


The Corruption of Somminick Timmns

by YouCantKeepMeDown



Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Politics, Seduction to the Dark Side, What-If
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-03-27
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23342680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YouCantKeepMeDown/pseuds/YouCantKeepMeDown
Summary: Somminick Timms can't forget about how he felt when he killed Darth Ekkage. He hopes to never see the Sith Warrior who left him now choice in the matter ever again, but then said Sith becomes Commander of the Alliance and the SIS asks Timmns to gather information on him.
Relationships: Somminick Timmns & Male Sith Warrior
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	The Corruption of Somminick Timmns

**Author's Note:**

> This story assumes that the Sith Warrior made Timmns kill Darth Ekkage, but they parted as friends afterwards. It also assumes a mostly dark side playthrough.

Somminick Timmns turns in his bed, sleepless. Every time he closes his eyes he sees Darth Ekkage fall under his lightsaber again. She’d been defeated and defenseless, but she’d been too dangerous to be left alive. He’d made the only decision that had made sense at the time. He didn’t have any choice. The Sith hadn’t left him any choice.

And still.

Every time he lets his thoughts drift, he hears the Sith’s voice again telling him that he’s enjoyed every painful moment of Timmns’ struggle with his morals. And every time anger rises. For one because the Sith forced his hand, but also because they both know that there’d been something else than pain. Something the Sith must’ve felt too but had chosen not to voice so it can fester in darkness now.

In the very last moment before Timmns’ lightsaber had hit, his eyes had locked with Darth Ekkage’s. And there’d been the realization in them that she was really going to die, that he was the one who would deliver her end. It’s something you don’t see on the battlefield. When you kill someone in a fight, they don’t have time to think. They’re way too caught up in trying to stay alive, and most of the time they don’t realize they made their last mistake before it’s too late. Killing someone like that, while they have nothing else to focus on than you and the blow you’re delivering … It makes you the center of their world. It gives you power Timmns had never felt before.

And he hates the Sith for showing him this, but at the same time he envies him.

Because the Sith is allowed to give into this, he doesn’t have to feel guilty for it, no one expects anything else from him. But Timmns, he’s a Jedi, he’s supposed to face even more difficult decisions with a calm mind. He’s not supposed to feel anything.

So he shoves it all down, all the confusion, the anger, the guilt – and that tiny moment of dark joy. He shoves it down and locks it away to never look at it ever again.

* * *

It’s years later when the SIS comes to him, two agents with faces you forget the moment you stop looking at them.

“There’s a new power rising on Odessen,” one of them says.

“You might have heard of the Alliance,” the other adds.

Timmns hadn’t, but the explanation doesn’t take much time.

“The former Wrath of the Emperor?” He asks.

The first agent nods. “You know him.”

“I do?”

“You worked with him once on Belsavis,” the other agent says. “When you were sent after Darth Ekkage.”

That Sith. Somminick Timmns remembers.

“We need someone to keep an eye on the Alliance’s activities,” the first agent explains. “And you’re someone who has a chance at getting closer to former Lord Wrath.”

Timmns swallows when it’s all coming back. Darth Ekkage, that look in her eyes, that thrill of power. “How close?”

“As close as you can get. We need all the information.”

“Will you do it?”

“What will you do with the information?” He asks.

“Optimally use it to decide, if the Alliance is a trustworthy ally,” the first agent says.

That doesn’t sound too bad. And what’s he supposed to say? That he can’t because the Sith is the only person in the galaxy who knows that he enjoyed killing someone in cold blood? “I’ll do my best.”

“Thank you, Master Timmns.”

* * *

He’s been a month on Odessen when he spots the Sith in the cantina. He’s talking to a group of people, but when Timmns draws near, he turns as if he senses something. Timmns stops in front of him. “Commander.”

The Commander smiles. “Master Timmns.” There’s curiousity in his yellow eyes. “I didn’t expect you here.”

Timmns shrugs. “We parted as friends last time we met, didn’t we? And the Eternal Empire is a threat to all of us.”

The Sith nods, pleased obviously. One of his hands lands on Timmns’ shoulder like you’d do greeting and old friend. “Welcome to the Alliance.”

Timmns surpresses a shudder at the touch. There’s so much anger behind that friendly face. It’s not directed at anyone specifically, it’s just there like an integral part of who the Sith is. Timmns had sensed something like that in a much weaker form last time they’d met. But the dark side is so much stronger in the Sith now. So strong, in fact, that Timmns wonders if it’s been a mistake coming here. With sudden clarity he realizes that he’s dead the second the Commander even suspects that SIS sent him here. No matter his intentions.

* * *

Another month, and the Commander has been keeping him close. They’re on missions together learning about Vaylin’s plans. Timmns has stood by while the Commander had questioned a guard. The man is on his knees in front of them now, gulping in air, spilling information with every breath he doesn’t need for pure survival after being choked repeatedly. It’s effective, Timmns has to admit that. And the more he learns about Vaylin, the more he agrees that she has to be stopped at all cost. This is a necessary evil. He’s tried to explain it to SIS, tried to explain how the Commander might be a Sith, but he’s a reasonable one. He’s advised strongly for the Republic to work with the Alliance. So far it’s been to no avail, but he’s willing to be patient.

“That’s all I know!” The guard sputters. “Please, I swear, I told you everything. Just let me go!”

“So you can warn the others? I don’t think so.” The Commander extends a hand, and Timmns can sense the force tighten around the guard’s neck.

“Let me just wipe his mind,” he offers in an attempt to save the man’s life.

“You think Vaylin wouldn’t sense that?”

That is a good point. This too is a necessary evil then.

“But maybe …” Suddenly Lord Wrath’s force grip lessens, and the guard gasps for air again. “You want to do the honor?”

A tiny part of Timmns, the part that has tasted blood with Darth Ekkage, stirrs. He shoves it down as far as he can, but there are also good reasons for him to do it, aren’t there? The Commander likes to draw his kills out, makes them suffocate slowly. He might be a reasonable Sith, but he’s still a Sith. So if Timmns did it, the guard would have to suffer less.

He takes is lightsaber from his belt, activates it – and strikes not leaving himself time to redecide.

And for the split second before the guard’s head falls off his shoulders, his eyes meet Timmns’, and for that moment Timmns is the center of his world.

He feels dizzy when it’s done, less than he was before, but also exhilarated somehow. Former Lord Wrath’s hand on his shoulder brings him back to reality. The Sith smiles at him. It’s not necessarily a friendly smile, more a predatory one. “Good work,” he says. “Come on now.”

They’re not ever going to talk about this, are they? Of course talking about it with a Sith is most certainly a bad idea, but Timmns almost wishes they would.

* * *

With Vaylin dead and the Sith on the Eternal Throne, Timmns stops advising for the Republic to work with him. They won’t anyway. Surpreme Chancellor Leontyne Saresh is not a good leader and not even an elected leader anymore. She starts leaning into being a dictator, and Timmns watches with concern. He’s refrained from mentioning a lot of delicate information in his reports for a while now, because he doesn’t trust what Saresh would do with it.

“She’s worse than any Sith Emperor,” he says one evening when they’re celebrating their victory and he’s feeling maybe a bit too save in the Commander’s presence. “At least a Sith would be honest about being a power hungry tyrant.” He stops, considers his words again. Then adds: “No offence.”

The Commander looks amused. “None taken.”

“You should watch her carefully,” Timmns goes on. And it’s almost there, on the tip of his tongue, that he could help with that. That he has connections to the SIS. But he can’t. He couldn’t stomache being a double agent. Too many lies. There are too many lies involved in being an SIS informant already. In the end he settles for: “She might make a grab for the Alliance at some point.”

The Sith nods, obviously thinking about what Timmns said. “Maybe we should go in the offensive before she can do so.”

Not another war. Timmns shakes his head. “Maybe there’s another way. I’m pretty sure a lot of people in the Republic aren’t happy with her either. Give them some time and they might … sort this out themselves.”

“I’ll trust your judgment in that,” the Sith says. “But it’s a pity we don’t know anyone with the right connections in the Republic to maybe give a little push in the right direction.”

Timmns is probably imagining it, but does the Commander look at him probingly for a moment? Does he suspect something? No, he really is imagining it.

But it is time to pick a side properly, and the way things are going it can’t be the Republic anymore. Maybe he should at least resign, tell the SIS that he’s not working for them anymore. Or he could try and see what he can learn after all. Even at the SIS there might be people not too happy with Saresh.

“I’ll listen around a bit,” he promises. “See what the Jedi council’s opinion is on this.”

“Let me know, if you learn anything.”

When Timmns wakes up the next morning, the decisions is made. At the next call to his SIS contact person he starts asking questions himself, probing carefully about Saresh. At least his contact person doesn’t seem too happy about her either.

He still hates all the lies, but maybe this is worth it.

* * *

It’s a few days later when the door to Timmns’ quarters flies off it’s hinges and he barely has time to wake up, before he gets force slammed into the nearest wall. He recognizes the Sith’s presence even before he sees him clearly, he feels the dark side tighten around his neck.

The Commander’s yellow eyes are blazing: “You betrayed me! You spied on me!”

Timmns’ fights the force hold with all he’s got, but he barely manages to loosen it enough to get a few words out. “I turned on them! Let me explain!”

He’s probably dead anyway. He’s heard how the Commander talks about betrayel before, and there’s not much the Sith hates more. So Timmns makes his peace with becoming one with the force. But that doesn’t mean he can’t at least try sort this out.

The hold around his neck vanishes, and he drops to the ground. Instead the Sith activates his lightsaber. “You have one minute.”

So Timmns gives a very short summary of it all. He stresses how he hasn’t sent any important information since Saresh got into office, how he’s tried to gather information for the Alliance instead. But he doesn’t beg for his life. If he dies here, he’ll die with dignity.

“I see,” the Commander says finally, voice cold as ice. “Looks like you weren’t careful enough. I bet they sent me an anonymous tip, because they wanted me to clean up their mess.”

That hurts. Maybe Timmns should’ve expected something like that, but he’s still hoped for better from the Republic. “I understand your anger,” he says finally. “But I really do believe in what you’re doing here. My loyalty is yours, if you still want it.”

For a moment the Sith just stares at him, anger seething inside him. “I would’ve prefered if you’d told me about this out of your own free will and a lot sooner.” He deactivates his lightsaber. “But I refuse to do the Republic’s dirty work.”

That’s already more than he’s hoped for. Timmns nods, gets up, brushes out his robes. “Thank you. I won’t disappoint you.”

“I don’t trust you right now and I’d throw you into a cell, if it weren’t for the fact that you’re hunted and can’t go anywhere anyway. So you’re free to go whereever you want – as long as you stay on Odessen. And you’ll be under close surveilance from now on.”

When the Sith leaves, Timmns sits down on his bed with a sigh. They’d almost become friends the last few months. It’s all ruined now. And it’s his own fault. He should’ve never agreed to become a spy. But he’d still believed in the Republic back then. He’d thought he could prove to them that the Sith would be a good ally. He had been wrong.

* * *

When the news arrive that the Sith has died while he was away on a meeting with Empress Acina, Timmns can’t believe it. And as soon as Saresh shows up on Odessen he’s absolutely sure she has something to do with it. He’s standing with Vette near where the Surpreme Chancellor has announced to be holding a speach soon.

“He’s not dead,” the Twi’lek echos Timmns’ own thoughts. “I’ve seen him survive worse. But if he learns of this, a lot of people will wish they’d never been born.”

“I agree,” Timmns says. “I don’t like that Saresh gets a platform here either.”

That gets him a surprised look from Vette. “Would’ve expected a Jedi to want to hear her out.”

Timmns shakes his head. “She’s an opportunistic fool. She’ll do nothing but spread lies.”

“Well then, Master Jedi, what do you propose we do?”

That is the question, isn’t it. He knows what the Sith would do. Saresh has been poison for the Republic long enough, and now she even starts spreading it to the Alliance. She has to go. Therefore someone has to step up and do the dirty work. And with the Commander, Lana Beniko, and Theron Shan not here there aren’t many people left who might be willing to.

Timmns takes a deep breath. “We can’t do anything to provoke another war. But if I take her down, no one will ever dream of blaming the Sith Empire. And the Alliance can denounce me afterwards, if you want. Use my spy background as proof that I wasn’t on your side either. I think that’d be the best way to remove her without causing further trouble.”

Another surprised look from Vette. “Someone is trying really hard to make up for past mistakes, I see. Don’t expect him to thank you for it.”

“I don’t,” Timmns says. “I’m not doing it for him.” It’s only half a lie. “But I need a lightsaber. He took mine.”

Vette looks at him thoughtfully. “That can be arranged, I think.”

* * *

Saresh is already holding her speech by the time Timmns has a weapon. He tightens his fingers around the hilt and walks through the crowd towards the stage. The closer he gets, the better he can hear Saresh talk, the more he wants to do this. The Alliance needs a leader like her? How dare she?

And the more she goes on about the Commander being dead, the more Timmns just knows that she has tried to murder him. Or maybe she even succeeded. As much as he wants to believe Vette, everyone’s luck ends at some point. Worry gnaws at his guts, worry for a friend’s safety. And the worry feeds into his hatred for Saresh.

Timmns knows he shouldn’t feel this. He should shove it down like he does with everything else. But it’s too big by now. The Republic used him against a friend, then they tried to get rid of him when he’d outlived his usefulness. And now they don’t even stop at backstabbing and deciving. If Acina had stood here talking about how well she could replace the Commander, he wouldn’t have been surprised. But the Sith Empire had actually wanted to meet to talk about working together. Everything he’d thought was true for so long has turned out wrong. So why even still care about what he feels? Timms just lets the hatred hasten his steps, and the crowd parts in front of him.

When he’s almost at the stage, he sees similar movement a bit to his right. And then he spots him, the Commander. Their eyes meet over the head of the spectators. For a moment the Sith seems surprised. Then he smiles, reaches for his own weapon, nod towards Saresh.

They jump at the same time.

The fight is short. Saresh hasn’t brought many guards, feeling way too safe here. One of them falls underneath Timmns lightsaber, then he helps corner the Surpreme Chancellor together with the Commander, Beniko and Shan.

“I know everything,” the Sith says.

Timmns hatred and disgust peak when Saresh doesn’t show any regret, she just outright admits to the assassination attempt. She even seems proud of it.

“What now?” She asks in the end. “Execution? It’s what I’d do.”

It’s an attempt to manipulate the Commander into wanting to prove that he’s better than her. But that just proves she doesn’t know him at all.

“And it’s what you deserve,” he says. But instead of striking he deactivates his lightsaber and turns to Timmns. “Somminick, my friend, would you do us the honor?”

It’s a test of his loyalty. A life sacrificed in a game of power, but Timmns doesn’t care. It’s what he’s set out to do anyway.

“You’ll never get a Jedi to–” Saresh never finishes her sentence. Instead there’s shock on her face as Timmns steps foward. When he lifts his lightsaber, their eyes meet, and he can see fear in hers. Good. It’s what she deserves.

This time he doesn’t fight the dark joy of becoming the center of her world. He’s doing the galaxy a favor, he’s allowed to get something out of it. A moment later her head rolls, and the exhilaration of it still curses through Timmns’ veins. He doesn’t feel any lesser this time. Instead he feels more powerful than ever before.

He can feel the Commander step next to him, then a hand lands on his shoulder. “Welcome to the Alliance for real this time.”

Timmns turns towards him, nods, tries to to find his calm again and fails. “Thank you,” he manages anyway.

Lord Wrath smiles that slightly predatory smile. He leans in closer, lowers his voice. “I could also use another apprentice.”

So now they’re talking about it. And there’s no use in denying it anymore. Timmns has strayed way too far to the dark side. Or is it too far? Why? Everything else he’d thought true for so long has turned out wrong.

He clears his throat. “I’ll think about it.”

Lord Wrath nods. “Don’t think about it for too long.”


End file.
